The present invention relates to a network of related apps for mobile computerized devices.
Numerous embodiments of groupings of related apps exist in the prior art such as the categories of apps to be found on Apple's App Store and on Google Play. However, each of these groupings of related apps requires the user to download each individual app in order to use them. US patent application US20120221384A1 provides a collection of apps to which a user can subscribe, but requires the user to download and install each desired app within the collection in order to use it. Many apps, such as TripAdvisor, include information relevant to many different locations and topics, but they do not allow individual venues, organizations, and individuals to offer their own individually branded and individually controlled apps, nor do they create a coherent network of such individually branded and individually controlled apps.
It would be advantageous to provide coherent networks of related apps that allow the user to download just one of the apps within the network in order to access the content of all of the related apps. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide a network of apps that allow a user to travel from region to region and instantly access apps that are controlled by and updated by entities located within those regions. By providing an infrastructure for the simple creation of apps to all such entities, including the ability to constantly update content, sales, and specials, regional venues will be empowered and users of the app network will find more relevant information.
It would also be advantageous to provide coherent networks of related apps that are each dedicated to a particular topic and are edited by members in a wiki fashion. A mobile empowered network of wiki apps would allow for richer content added directly from locations related to each topic.
It would also be advantageous to provide coherent networks of related apps that are automatically generated from existing apps, websites, social media pages, and blogs. The owners of these existing platforms could choose to activate, publish, and edit the new apps. This would be a simple choice on the part of these owners to have an app that is part of a coherent network that would give more exposure to their content, which could be automatically updated when these owners make changes to the existing apps, websites, social media pages, and blogs.
It would also be advantageous to provide coherent networks of related apps that are each associated with a specific commercial item that can be tracked with the permission of the commercial item's owner and analyzed throughout its life cycle from production through its sale to its recycling and disposal. Such apps could also provide remote control of the commercial items, and critical information concerning the item's repair, upkeep, recycling, and disposal.
It would also be advantageous to provide a coherent network of apps with sub-networks that are devoted to particular types of apps.